Missed Chances
by skyoria
Summary: How does one destroy an entire race? You can't. It's impossible. No one is perfect, no one can know everything, and no one can get rid of every trace. Everyone always errors, misses a detail, or forgets. This is the story of one Air Nomad who was left behind.
1. Chapter 1

Late Summer 2 weeks BC (hehe Before Comet)

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I hate the Fire Nation this time of year.

It's always sweltering to the point where if you aren't drinking water constantly, you run risk of dehydration! The sun beats down on the people scurrying about trying to avoid it and the wind kicks up the dust that just seems to get everywhere. It is simply miserable; even for the natives. The active volcanoes don't help with the heat either. It's as if they choose this specific season just to torture the people living on them even more. The wind was a small consolation as it does nothing to cool the air, but simply stir it.

"Ugh, maybe we should've visited Kassuq and Miki in the Northern Water Tribe instead. What do you think? Still time to turn back?"

I looked down at the small bundle strapped to my chest. She was sleeping; completely comfortable flying through the air and blissfully unaware of the broiling heat. She takes the heat better than I do.

"They can't take you away from me. It isn't time yet, you aren't even weaned. Unbalanced world be damned! I'm your mother!"

* * *

"THEY WHAT!?"

"Mi-Chun! Calm down!"

"Calm Down?! Oh no! First they tell the Avatar who he is before he is 16- a horrible decision might I point out!"

"Yes, you already pointed that out. This is number 9 if you were wondering."

"Now The Council wants to take my child!?" Mi-Chun yelled, completely ignoring the annoyed look on her friend's face. "Those old geezers can go jump off a cliff!"

"They'll just float down."

"Stop ruining my dream with your logic!" Mi-Chun gave a mournful look at her friend, "How? How could they do this, Ekta? How could they want to take my Nima away?"

Etka sighed. "You forget where you are Mi-Chun. We are Air Nomads. We are all Nima's parents. You cannot change that. You must detach yourself."

"I've never been very good at that…" Mi-Chun's lack of tattoos were testament to it. "They are cutting my time to be her only mother by months! Even after that, Etka, I'm not sure that I could let her go…" Mi-Chun looked down, but not before Etka could catch the look of shame that crossed her face. "What if…"

Etka gave her friend a cautious look. "What if what?"

Mi-Chun gathered herself and shook her head. "Nothing." Etka, however, did not look convinced. "I think I need some time to cool down. Get away from it all, before I go after those hogmonkeys."

Mi-Chun tried to look as innocent as possible, as her best friend gave her an assessing look. "Fine. It might be good for you." Mi-Chun smiled and started to rush about the room to prepare. "You need to be careful though. As annoying as they are, the Council is right about the world being unbalanced. Don't go as an airbender, just as Mi-Chun. Please?"

"Alright. I suppose I could use some discretion."

Etka sighed, "I suppose there's a first time for everything, but -"

"HEY!"

"- I have to report to Matriarch if anything goes wrong, so don't let anything go wrong!"

* * *

And now here I am, flying over the Fire Nation, with my semi-stolen baby, towards possible danger, on a ten ton flying bison... What was that Ekta said about things going wrong?

"I hate lying to Etka, even if it is just a lie of omission." I cuddled Nima close and whispered to her, "You're worth it… Even if I have to face Matriarch later."

Nima began to wiggle and her face scrunched up; uncomfortable with the squeezing she was receiving. I gaze at my baby, and don't see a member of the Air Nomads or a potential airbender. I see my daughter. I see my baby girl with her black wisps of hair, her chubby cheeks, her gray eyes, her little thumbs that she can't keep out of her mouth, and her oh so ticklish feet.

I see my daughter, my baby, my heart. MINE.

"I'm a horrible Air Nomad."

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A/N: Soooooo this is my first story ever! It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time! O.O Be gentle! Please! This at first didn't exist. I was going to start it off between season 2 and 3 with my OC character, but I felt like there should be some background as to how her ancestor got there and how they survived. I researched A LOT. For these OCs, I gave names based on meaning cause I really am not planning on fleshing out their characters much. Also, this was only supposed to be one chapter before the actual story. Didn't even plan that flashback or Ekta! Hope it made sense and I stayed in tense (that's hard!). I meant to change tense for the flashback. Did it work alright? Still experimenting… As for Matriarch, it made sense that the head air nun would be called something of the sort. There's The Mother, but that makes me think of DA…


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Oh wow! Thank you my two reviewers! I will cherish them. Even if they are only 3 words long! And to my follower, Jemidragon! I might've stalked your profile a bit and memorized your screen name…. Sorry for being creepy. To my Guest reviewer! I wish I could PM you, but alas I cannot! I didn't even notice that someone might be confused. In my head they were flying on a bison (which I actually mention in this chapter right down there. As for the baby being strapped to her, I haven't mentioned it yet but she's only 2 months old and after what happened wouldn't you want to snuggle her? Mi-Chun is using some stealth for this visit, so a flying lemur with her would blow that cover and MoMo was kind of flighty (pun intended :D) to watch a baby. On to the story!

Disclaimer that was forgotten the last chapter: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…

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1 week 6 days BC (still makes me chuckle a bit)

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"Mi-Chun! It's so good to see you! Oh! This must be little Nima! I must say I approve of the name! What did you do with your bison? I always forget his name. Is something wrong? You didn't give us much notice for your visit… Did something happen at the temple? Why are you in Fire Nation clothes? Has the-"

"Dear! Perhaps you might let Mi-Chun in the door? She looks exhausted."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't even realize… Where are my manners? Please come in and sit! I'll make some tea. You two catch up! You haven't seen each other in years! When was that last time we saw her? So much has happened since then! I-"

"Urja! You said something about tea?"

"Oh yes of course! Just slipped my mind! I'll be right back!" Urja gave me a bright smile before zipping off to the kitchen. Spirits. She moves fast. Talks fast too. I could barely understand the words she was uttering. I know she was saying something, though… but what? Doesn't matter right now.

I gave my friend, Shingi, a grateful look. He's gotten older; almost 30 now if my math's correct. Still the average man from an average village. Shingi looks like the average Fire Nation man past his prime(I should tell him so)-still has the same black hair, and brown eyes; nothing that would draw attention. That is until someone attacked of course. He was amazing at hand-to-hand combat. Taught me a few things that I've found rather useful.

I haven't seen my friend in 4 years. He's definitely past due for some teasing. I quickly threw a horrified, slightly disgusted look on my face, "Shingi, when did you get so old?! It's only been 4 years! When did you have enough time to age that much?"

He looked shocked. Must be because he hasn't been around me recently, I mused. Then he smirked a bit before pulling his own horrified face.

"When did you get so fat?! There's just so much more of you to go around! I should be able to see you more often then!"

We each then proceeded to poke each other's new found problems. While I was messing around with his face, trying to helpfully point out all of his new 'wrinkles', he was showing me all the places that had gained fat during my pregnancy( Luckily for him, he stayed far away from my chest).

Of course, this was when his wife walked back in the room. We've only met once and haven't really gotten to know each other, so it wasn't that big of a surprise when she dropped the tray she was carrying.

"What in Sozin's name…?" Surprisingly, she didn't say anything else. It may have been because her mouth was hanging open so far a Komodo Hawk could've started nesting in there. She has a really large mouth-and nose now that I'm really looking. Gray eyes, maybe she has some Air Nomad ancestor… Focus, Mi-Chun. I then realized that my finger was still on Shingi's face and promptly removed it and stepped back. I think it would be better if I let Shingi handle her.

"Oh do you hear that? Nima's starting to fuss! I better check to see what's wrong!" I quickly scampered out of the room before the awkward conversation could start.

* * *

"Sorry about running off earlier. I just don't know you well enough to know how you will react to us teasing each other and felt that I should let Shingi explain." I hope I look properly shamed.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Shingi murmured quietly enough that only I could hear.

I ignored my friend and continued, "I think of him as my older brother and nothing more. Frankly, the thought of us being a couple repulses me."

"Well there goes my ego! You smashed it to bits! How am I supposed to put it back together now?"

I gave him a withering glare, "I'm sure you'll find a way. You always do."

Urja interrupted before we could get any further, "Please, Mi-Chun, I understand. I was just shocked. My brother and I never acted that way and Shingi certainly never acts that way with me. Now, what's going on and how can we help? I assume something's happened that's caused this visit during these dangerous times. I'm certainly glad that you dressed as a Fire Nation citizen. There have been rumors, and none of them are pleasant."

It was my turn to have my mouth hanging open. In all of her chatter, I had somehow missed that all of her questions had been insightful. Well, that blows my first impressions right out of the temple. I understand a little about why Shingi married her.

I sighed, "I suppose I should explain a little about what's going on… To answer a few of your earlier questions, I had to land my bison about a mile or so away from the village and told him to go home and come back in about two weeks. Something is wrong. Firstly, the Council decided to inform the Avatar of who he really is four years early."

Shingi interrupted, "Something must be very wrong indeed. They must think we need the Avatar. Do you know if this has ever been done before?"

Shooting him a small glare for interrupting me, I continued, "Not that I am aware, but I've never liked history much."

"What else happened?" Urja insisted.

"They decided that all of the children below the age of 14 needed to go into hiding-except for the Avatar of course. They wanted to take my Nima away from me!"

Urja gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, "That's horrible! How could they take children from their mothers! That's simply barbaric!"

Shingi's brow furrowed in confusion, "Forgive me Mi-Chun, but wouldn't this have happened anyway? Don't your people raise your children as a community?"

Urja was giving me a disgusted look, but I didn't like the practice much either, so I simply pretended that she wasn't insulting my culture by calling it barbaric and moved on.

"Yes," I looked down at my clasped hands, wishing that I was holding Nima. Right now she was comfortable in Shingi's arms, sleeping through all the tension and worry in the room. "However, I'm not sure I would have given her up even if I was given my full allotted time." I gave Shingi a sad smile, "You know I'm not a very good Air Nomad."

Shingi returned the smile, just as sad, "You were always more violent then the others." He stood up, careful to not jostle the sleeping Nima, out of his chair and walked towards me. He offered his free hand to help me up from my own chair and when I put my hand in his, used it to pull me into a hug.

" You may stay here as long as you need to," Shingi said, handing Nima back over to me.

I was starting to tear up, "Thank you…" I had better retreat before I start crying.

Before I could say anything more Shingi beat me to it, "Why don't you go to bed now? You must be exhausted."

I smiled and nodded, holding back tears. You're always saving me Shingi.

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A/N2: I thought that was a good place to end it! The next chapter will most likely be further in the future, creeping ever closer the the day of the comet. For anyone wondering, Urja means energy!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: My dear guest reviewer! I shall address you first because, well, you reviewed. I mentioned in the last chapter that Mi-Chun landed about a mile away from the edges of the village and sent her bison home. She told him to come back in about two weeks. I believe that Sky Bison are very smart and would be able to understand this. As for the benefits to having a lemur with her, if she walked into the village with one, it would blow her cover. For the purposes of this story, Mi-Chun doesn't have one. Besides, in flashbacks, the lemurs we see don't look tamed. Hmm perhaps I will give one to my future OC… It would fit. :D Now TheOrderOfTheWhiteLotus thank you for your favorite! You did so right as I posted Chapter 2 funnily enough. Also thanks to KPBDream for faving and following and to Mierin Eronaile for following. Seriously, you guys gave me some major motivation!

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…

3 days BC

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"MI-Chun! Did you hear? There's supposed to be a comet coming any day now! It's supposed to be beautiful! It only comes every 100 years! A momentous occasion to be sure! Perhaps it will bring something remarkable with it! That's what everyone around the village is saying anyway. The miller down the road thinks that the crops will grow even better, the blacksmith thinks that the village will prosper under it, and for some reason the innkeeper thinks it's a bad omen-we never listen-" Urja continued on and on, not noticing that I stopped paying attention after she said something about the comet being pretty or something. I was more focused on Nima.

We were out in the garden, enjoying a blessed cool day in the Fire Nation. Of course, that just means that the temperature is bearable, but still includes copious amounts of sweating. Nima recently discovered the art of rolling, and -try as I might- nothing short of spiritual intervention could stop her.

"So will you?" I looked up to find Urja giving me an expectant look. Flaming hogmonkeys, I have no idea what she's talking about! Just go with it.

I answered hesitantly, "Yes…?" I looked carefully up at Urja to see if she had noticed my inattention, but she seemed very happy with my answer.

"Oh good! I was worried that some people might be able to come! I know you won't be able to, but I figured that you would rather stay here anyway and lay low. I promise there won't be too many and it's just for one night! Oh and possibly morning; I'm not exactly sure if we'll be able to walk back during the night… Now that I'm thinking about it, we'll probably leave after breakfast the next day, but knowing Shingi that could be lunch!"

Urja finally stopped talking long enough to laugh and that allowed my brain to catch up to her words. I think I just agreed to watch several things while everyone else goes somewhere else. I really don't want her to know that I don't pay much attention when she talks. We barely know each other and I would like to be able to visit Shingi more often. That would be difficult if his wife and I were fighting.

Urja started walking off, saying something about telling the others. I suppose I'll find out later…

"Nima! No! Dirt does not go in our mouths!"

* * *

Day before the Comet

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"That's a lot of kids."

I was shocked. There can't be this many children in the village. Can there? I thought the Fire Nation preferred smaller families….

Urja looked surprisingly ashamed at that, "Oh yes sorry about that! Well word spread around to some of the other villages close by, that someone was staying behind to watch the children that couldn't go. I guess with all the preparations and packing and what not, that it just slipped my mind to inform you. Everyone who's going talked and we will be leaving the day after the comet comes, before lunchtime. No matter the hangover!" She more excited than ashamed now…

Wait. They are all going off to get drunk for a few days while I watch all these kids? And I agreed?! I really need to start paying more attention to what Urja says…

My face must've given away how unhappy I was with this arrangement because Urja turned her tone to placating. "Don't worry! I'm sure that some of the older kids will be happy to help you! It will be no trouble at all! You're a great mother and handle Nima with ease." She turned to her pack and began to rifle through it, "A few more kids will be no problem!"

I gave her a doubtful look, that she unfortunately couldn't see, "You two don't have children. You have no idea what it's like!"

"I'm sure you're overreacting! You'll be… Where did that… Ah! Here it is!" Urja turned back towards me, "Look, why don't you go get acquainted with the kids! Then it will be less awkward tonight if you actually know some of their names. You'll also be out of the way. Shoo!" Urja began making a shooing motion with her hands and started coming towards me. I was too shocked to move.

Sh-she's shooing me out of the room! Wha-what?

An indignant Urja, began to push me out the door, " Go on now! Shoo! If I don't hurry the group will leave without us! Then Shingi and I will have to travel alone! We might get attack by bandits! Then if we do make it safely to the celebration, we'll be late! Do you really want us to be late for this?"

I was about to point out that something was wrong with her if she thought being late was worse than being attacked by bandits, but she slammed the door in my face before I could. She needs to sort out her priorities…

I frowned. Today is not a good day. I turned around to go find something to do- a walk might be nice-and came face to face with about a dozen children.

It just got worse...

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A/N2: Another chapter! Yay! Comments, questions, concerns? I take them all! Pm me or review either one. I just love hearing from you guys! :D At first I had Mi-Chun going to the celebration-which, if you're confused is in a larger town/village-but it wasn't working and I didn't want her to feel extra guilty i.e. having fun during the attacks. all the extra kids were just for fun. Now should I have snapshots of events with the kids or just skip over it completely? I guess it's more a question of whether I should add a bit of fun before she finds out or skip right to the tragedy.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: To my guest reviewer! I agree! Lemurs can be tamed, but they apparently weren't working on it before the comet. As for Momo, it had been 100 years. No one even knew what an airbender looked like, let alone the flying lemurs that were always around them. In the time of Mi-Chun and Sozin, I think people would be able to associate a flying lemur with airbenders better. As for her bison… :) Spoilers! My other reviewer, KPBDream asked me to have some fun with the kids, so I did! It's time to give thanks to LilPrincess95, sts431, and Siiillltt for following! You guys are so great! All of you! You make me want to work harder and finish this! Thanks all of you for reading my first writing attempt that got past the first chapter! 3 **

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

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_**Very Early Morning BC**_

[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]{_}[-]

_Ugh, I'm so tired… and sticky_. I looked down to find four different kids laying on me. _Well, that explains that. Let's see… Nima's on my chest where I left her, two little boys-is that Lee and Xilo? Mmmm, I think that's Rai-La laying on my thigh. Why does there have to so many of you!?_ I groan and let my head fall back on the pillow. I try to rub my eyes, but there's something holding one of my hands down. I look over and find another one, with his face in my hand. _Alright, that's kind of adorable, but another one? That makes five kids laying on me, on a hot summer's night._

_Why did I think that was a good idea again?_

_**Previous day**_

Mi-Chun frowned. _Today is not a good day_. I turned around to go find something to do- _a walk might be nice_-and came face to face with about a dozen children.

_It just got worse…_

_Quick think of something that isn't awkward to say!_

"Uh flameo! My name is Mi-Chun. I'll be looking after you for the next couple days I guess…" I gave the kids an awkward smile and clasped my hands in front of me.

_Oh yes. Not awkward in the least. Great job Mi-Chun, you look like an idiot!_

_Like that's different from any other day_

…_Did I just insult myself? _

_Focus!_

Six children stepped forward to stand in a line. To make it even stranger, they lined up from tallest to shortest. They all bowed in sync. I exchanged a confused glance with the other children before looking back, to watch the strange ones. The tallest and presumably the eldest spoke, "It is a pleasure to meet you, honored elder. We are the children that hail from the Xing-Lao Village. It is our honor to have you look after us and we shall do anything we can to make this burden lessen."

The boy who had spoken looked up at me with a surprisingly critical gaze for someone his age. "We were all told to wait outside this house, however, you are surprised to see us. Were our parents mistakenly told that we were to meet here?"

It took me a moment to realize that I had been standing there looking like I'd just seen a herd of rhinadillos fly. I quickly brushed away the hair that had fallen in my face and bowed back. "Oh I was simply not informed that you would be here-by here I mean here in this spot, not here as in here in the village."

The boy simply raised his eyebrow. _Am I being judged?_

"Well I suppose that first I need to learn all of your names and then dinner. It's in a few hours. What would you all like to eat?"

The children of the Xing-Lao village looked up at her shocked-except of course for the tallest (_Is he the eldest?_), who frowned- as if they had never been asked this question before, while the rest began to clamor about; all wanting to get their bid in for what dinner should be.

_Well this is going to be great fun._

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**A/N2: I am horrible! Over a month for an update and it's tiny! You all must hate me! I hate me! I just couldn't write it. I would love help with this. Seriously, through PM-ing or email; I work better when I bounce ideas off of others. I have no beta (obviously). Want to be one?! :D I have decided that this may become drabble-like. I'm very indecisive if you can't tell from that last statement. It's just easier for me to write short scenes like this. Comments, questions, concerns? I need them.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: To my dear Guest! I hope I will be able to live up to your expectations! Hearing from you every chapter is delightful and I hope to keep hearing from you even though we settled the issue. I do wish you had an account so we could speak to each other better than this. My life has gone through some upheaval recently, but I promise to write as much as I can! This is still filler and I was going to add on a bit more, but I wanted to just post something for you guys-even though it's short.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

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**Early Morning BC- Mi-Chun remembering the afternoon before (It's all very flashback-y)**

A shrill whistle pierced the air. All the shouting children had to cover their ears and, fortunately, stopped talking-_screaming_-due to the shock of it.

_Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have used airbending to help with that…_

I had gathered everyone inside amongst the clamor. _Nima isn't even this bad and she doesn't know any better!_ Meanwhile, Urja had miraculously produced everything she needed to pack and was out the door in under two minutes. _Pretty sure that's a record for her… _ Anyway! It turns out that there were 13 children in total and that the unpleasant frown-y boy's name was Li. There is, coincidentally, another boy named Lee. However, there are key differences between the two. For instance, **Lee** was sweet, adorable, about 3 years old and not from that strange village; the complete opposite of **Li** in all of those examples of character. _They did look rather similar though. Must be a Fire Nation thing…_

I was brought out of my musings by a sniffling Nima, who did not enjoy my superior whistling skills at all, and was on the verge of wailing. I immediately started my patented calming technic- i.e. begging and bouncing.

"Shh, shhh. Mummy's sorry! Please don't cry. I promise not to whistle again in your presence if you don't cry right now."

Nima rather suddenly switched dispositions and began cooing, happy as could be. She certainly knows how to work things to her advantage already.

"Alright! Now that that potential disaster has been averted, first things first-names! Now I doubt I'm going to remember who is who right away (_Except Li of course. No one could forget him and his ever present scowl_), so I'm going to make a list. Now it would be most helpful if you would form a line…"

Before I could even finish my sentence, the pushing started. _Lovely_… "The sooner I finish this the sooner dinner will get started!" That caused them to start behaving. The stomach is certainly a powerful thing…

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**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** **Thanks to my new follower** **Digi-fanCapp for your lovely review! And thank you for answering my PM! No one else has :'( Alright no more pity party! The reason this came so soon after chapter 5 is because this guy/girl/it ^^^^ got me motivated and thinking! Wooh! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

**Continuation of 5**

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After I managed to get the list of names down-with distinctive features to tell them all apart; I'm quite clever sometimes, if I do say so myself- I started on dinner enlisting help among the older and trusted.

A lovely girl named Kasai and a rather interesting lad who calls himself Yuzu- no clue what his actual name is, the other kids either won't say or just don't know-volunteered to help with dinner. As it turns out, Yuzu loves to cook. No really.

He's really good at is too; much better at it than I am, but that's not saying a whole lot.

Now, instead of them being my assistants, Kasai is helping out Yuzu-I swear I know that from somewhere- and I'm supervising.

A boy around fourteen or so, I forget his name, I put in charge of the kids under ten-I still have Nima since there aren't any kids here her age. There's quite a few of them, but they seem to be having the time of their life. Ahh to be young…

Li is around skulking and being very shady in general. The three youngest kids from that village are all very shocked about how the other kids act with each other and me. It's hard for them to join in and seem to stick around on the edges. The older two act just like Li and watch everyone with a certain level of disgust; their noses are so high in the air, sky bison would crash into them.

…Great now I miss Kou*… Distraction time!

Let's see. Let's see…. Dinner's done, so I should probably do dishes.

Hmmm, "Hey Lee! Come over here for a second." The little boy popped his head up out of the group of children that were playing together and pointed to himself.

"Me?"

"No the Badger-Bear. Yes you!"

Lee disappeared for a moment as he maneuvered through the gaggle of children. He reappeared rather suddenly by my side making me jump.

"Flameo!"

"Ah! Your good at sneaking little hotman. You should take it up professionally."

"Really?!"

"Oh yes! Good money in that!" He could make a killing! I'm jealous… and he's only three years old and you're already corrupting him Mi-Chun. Nice work! I really need to learn to not get off topic…

"Okay Lee, I was wondering if you knew where your creepy alter-ego is."

"Alter-ego?"

Three year-old Mi-Chun!

"Uhhh… The other Li! Do you know where he is?"

"Ohhhhhh! He _is_ creepy! Rai-La's pretty nice, but all the others are weird too."

"Yes they are, which is why I want you to keep an eye on them and report back to me if they try to creep anyone out."

His eyes widened, "Really?!"

I eyed him very seriously, trying not to smile. "Yep! It's a very important job that I can only trust to you. Think you can do it?"

He stood up as straight as he possibly could and preformed a Fire Nation salute. "Yes ma'am!"

"Alright then! Report!"

"He went into the kitchen… Ma'am."

I gave him a quick smile before schooling my features and preforming my own Fire Nation salute. "Dismissed, Admiral!"

His eyes widened again when I called him Admiral before grinning and running off to play with the other kids.

So, Li's lurking in the kitchen… Perfect.

Hah! Lurking Li…

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***Kou is what I've decided to name her bison. Sorry if all these names are confusing but there are rather a lot of characters. Feel free to just glide right over them and not remember exactly everything they've done in this story. The names of the kids I'll probably mention more than once are probably: Li, Lee, Nima (duh), Yuzo, and Rai-La. Everyone else is sorta just a name.**

**By the way, can you imagine a Badger-Bear?! Smaller, but more irritable and deadly.**

**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I've noticed that when I'm writing Mi-Chun that I'm writing from the silly, air-headed part of my brain-which Mi-Chun rather is(I hope I've presented that correctly to you guys. She doesn't even have her tattoos and she's ~24). She's not very capable or smart. I actually have to dumb down my writing. I'll use 'big' words that she would never even think of using and I'll have to go back and figure out how to make it sound more like her. **

**It is time to give thanks! To my shiny reviewers Digi-fanCapp and Cartwheellou thank you! Thank you twice more Cartwheellou for the follow and favorite!**

**AHHH! I posted exactly a week after the last one! What is this magic?!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

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**Continuation of 6**

I headed into the kitchen and there he was, as promised.

Lurking Li.

I felt a smile coming on and fought to contain it. That will never get old. Heheheheh lurking Li… now I just need an 'L' word for his lackeys… Aw yes! I found one without even trying! I, am so awesome, that I scare myself sometimes.

…

And I've been standing in front of Lurking Li plus lackeys for who knows how long, staring off into space. Great.

"Ah! There you are Lur- Li! You and your…." I made a sort of waving motion with my hand, as I'm trying so figure out what to call them besides lackeys. Others? People? Followers? Friends? Friends is safe. "Friends are on clean-up duty."

Both of the boys raised their heads slightly, as if they weren't looking down their noses at me enough already. The girl, however, looked rather wide eyed and confused by the time I was done speaking-gesturing, either one.

Please. It's like they think they're better than me. Which they aren't.

I can practically see Lurking Li's internal conflict. I'm fairly certain that they were raised to obey their elders, but they also think they're hot stuff. I can too figure things out! Take that Ekta!

Hah! Hot stuff…Hah!

I wonder if any of them are firebenders…

Focus! It looks like Lurking Li is going to speak.

"Very well," Li managed to ground out-while lurking. Then he suddenly turned to the girl standing next to him.

When his eyes made contact with her, she immediately looked down and bowed her head slightly. I'm pretty sure her name is Older Creepy Girl. Yup! That's definitely it!

"Damini."

Or not.

He grabs her arm and pulls her to face him. Well, he's looking at her face. She's looking at his feet.

"Rai-La is too young to help. This means you alone will represent the Xing-Lao village in this endeavor."

I am very confused.

"Ojas and I will remain here to make sure you do not break anything."

I can feel a frown coming on. I try to cut in, but he continues.

"If you dishonor the village in any way, you know your punishment."

My glare has shown up and it doesn't like Lurking Li at all. My glare and I are in agreement.

"You may begin."

Lurking LI promptly removes his hand and watches her move to the wash basin. When she begins, Lurking Li and his lackey-those are their names now- move to sit in a place where they can easily keep an eye on her.

…

'WHAT?!'

A dish clatters and startles me out of my daze. The girl and lackey look at me with wide eyes, while Lurking Li scowls. I can hear feet heading towards the kitchen.

Why would… Oh.

"I said that out loud…"

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**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: From my lovely two reviewers from last chapter, I found out that I might not have been as clear as I thought at the end of the last chapter. Sorry if it caused confusion, Mi-Chun was referring to 'What?!' there at the end. This caused Damini(Creepy older girl) to drop a dish and the other kids to come running. Sorry about the confusion. Anyway, thank you all for reading! Even if you don't review, feel free to PM me with ideas. I love bouncing ideas off people. It makes it easier for me to write, which means updates! Everyone loves those!**

**I am on a roll with these updates! Now the question is should I update when I can or once a week?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

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**Continuation of 7**

Why would… Oh.

"I said that out loud…"

There was a long pause as everyone gave me a wide eyed look. The older ones ranged from angry to worried with a mix of shock in between. The kiddies, on the other hand, were all confused.

I can just feel the dam about to break…

"It was more like screaming."

Oh look! There it went!

"I didn't me-"

"I thought someone was hurt!"

"What's wrong?"

"Did someone try to break in?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fi-"

"What's going on?"

"Why'd you scream?"

"Did one of the creepies attack you?"

"Wha-"

"I heard a crash too."

"Did someone tell you bad news?"

"Does this mean we don't get dessert?"

"Did something happen with Nima?"

That's it! I'm getting a headache. I put my hands over Nima's ears, and yelled as loud as I could. "Enough!"

Everyone settled down a bit thankfully and stopped asking their damn questions.

"Thank you." I smiled a bit and closed my eyes: stalling, so I could have a moment to calm down.

When I opened them again, everyone was looking at me, waiting for answers. Even Li, surprisingly. He was still scowling, but there was also confusion with just a touch of disdain there as well. I suppose the Lord of the Scowl doesn't mix with women who speak-scream, doesn't matter…

I felt a tug on my shirt and looked down to find little Lee. His cute little eyebrows were scrunched together in concern.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice was full of worry. He took a moment to look at the frown-y version of himself and back to me, questioning me silently.

I forced myself to smile more and nodded a bit in response to both of his questions. "I'm alright. I didn't mean to scream. Sometimes the thoughts in my head some out of my mouth without me even noticing. I was just shocked, that's all."

"By what?" I think it was Yuzo who said this…

"Oh… well, it's just… Lur- _Li_ over there had some interesting thoughts on gender roles, and they weren't what I'm used to."

As soon as I mentioned the tall, dark and lurking, everyone turned to look at him. He looked rather uncomfortable with all the attention.

Good…

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**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: O.O I'm so sorry guys! Don't hate me! I completely forgot to post last week; by the time I realized what had happened it was Wednesday and I've been SUPER busy since. Thanks to all of that busyness I have a job! It's so exciting! Enough about me and my excuses, I have two fantastic new followers that go by BasicallyComplicated and Kent Rigel, I hope you have a great time reading this story as I do writing it! That goes for the rest of you too! Hugs for everyone! My reviewer Digi-fanCapp gets a bonus virtual banana! Why a banana? Because I have too many and they're full of Potassium. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I'm simply taking over their world for my own (possibly evil) purposes…**

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Li's glare moved all over the sea of faces looking at him expectantly, before settling on me. I swear if looks could kill, I'd be as dead as a Rabbit-turtle during soup season.

Mm, Rabbit-turtle soup… You just ate dinner Mi-Chun! Stop it! This is important.

Yuzu stepped forward out of the crowd looking very confused.

"Okay… So anyone want to be more specific than that?" He said, looking between Li and I.

Now was as good a time as any to get things cleared up. "Hmm, there seem to be too many small ones about…" I pointed at the boy who was taking care of the children before this. "Go take them outside to play, before it gets too dark, while I settle this. Kasai you go with him. He might need help with all this excitement."

Yuzu measured me with his eyes and raised a brow, "Small ones?"

He's trying not to laugh. I can tell. I hate being short. The top of my head is just short of reaching his shoulder. I decide not to dignify him with a response and instead glower at him.

I may have also stuck my tongue at him before I turned away. Possibly. It's not important.

…

I still can't remember his name! Ugh, this is going to bug me.

Wait. The lackey is still here. "Hey! Are you under 15?"

He looked at me with disdain only rivaled by his lurking hero. He simply nodded his head. At least I know they still respect me as an elder enough to be honest-and hopefully obey. Honored elder my ass. I bet they're regretting that now!

"Well then! Why are you still here?" I nod my head towards the door where the other kids had gone, under the watchful eyes-hopefully-of Kasai and the boy. I need something better to call him, until I figure out his real name…

He still hasn't moved. I sighed. These kids are making me shove a pole up my butt. I turned my best glare on him and tried to look intimidating. However, as Yuzu pointed out earlier how short I am, it's hard to be confident that I pulled it off. The lackey's only a few inches shorter than me.

"Go outside. Now."

He looked at Li-just to make me angrier I bet-before heading outside with the other kids. That left Yuzu, Damini, Li, and I. Two against two. This turned out rather nicely. Well except for the horrible way Li seems to treat girls.

It's been quiet too long. It's getting awkward!

"Why don't we all sit down?"

Ahhhh… Saved by the Yuzu!

"Yes lets!" I looked over at Damini and Li. She's looking at her feet, so it's hard to see her expression, but Li's is right there front and center.

Absolutely nothing.

That's right. Nothing. He's not scowling, frowning, or glaring; no look of disdain or darkening of expression. He's just staring-looking completely calm.

I look over at Yuzu and he's noticed it too and given me a confused look. I don't get it either.

This should be interesting.

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**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: {Enter lots of excuses for being SUPER late here]**

**Thanks to my lovely teammate Hope7 for her review. It made me smile and actually got me working on this chapter and off my bum, so feel free to thank her! I know it's short, but it's something. *Sheepish smile***

**Disclaimer: I certainly don't own the ATLA world.**

* * *

We all sat there for a moment, it seemed like no one wanted to be the one to break the tense silence. I glance over at Yuzu, who in turn is staring at Li, who is looking at the table. Is Damini still…? Yep! Still watching her toenails grow.

I hate awkward silences. I sigh and look over at Li again.

Might as well be get this over with.

"So-"

"You have no right," Li suddenly stated. Great! Now he's glaring at me!

…Why should I be surprised?

"What are y-"

"Li is to be my husband."

Wait, what? I glance at Yuzu and he looks just as confused as I do.

I look back to Damini and check to make sure that there is in fact, no earwax causing my ability to hear to be in question.

"I'm sorry I think I'm in shock from hearing you speak. Can you say that again?"

Li, who hadn't stopped glaring-the lurking jerk-at me, "I know you are simple, but it isn't hard to understand. Damini is to be my wife. Thus it is none of your business as to how I treat her. I have put up with your insufferably savage ways and ideas because as my elder and a caretaker of children, you deserved my respect. However, every instance that you open your mouth, it is glaringly obvious, the respect that I should show you, differs greatly from what you deserve."

I…I-I…J-ju…wha… Huh?


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